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Once again Artist Of The Month time is here, although I'm a bit late annoucning this time around! After a long interview process, finally I've got the lowdown on one of CTG's most active artists - the magnificent, PartySan!. PartySan has more tunes on CTG than a second hand dart board has holes, yet the quality of those tunes remain of a very high calibre... So who is this PartySan fella, and how come he's a production workhorse?
slammy: Firstly, congratulations on being chosen as CTGmusic's Artist of The Month for November 2007!. To get us underway, can you tell me a little bit more about who PartySan is, and what makes him tick?
PartySan: Yeah, thanks. To be honest, I simultaneously kind of expected this to happen, but I'm still surprised. On with the show then. I'm Cristi ªtefãnescu (if that's unpronouncable, just "Chris" then). I was born on 9 August 1991, which makes me 16 years old. Right now I'm a high school student.
Besides music, I'm interested in video games (who isn't?  ), movies, anime, books and art. Well, I used to be a bookworm when I was younger, but nowadays I'm lazier, heh. As for art... well, I get inspiration sometimes from it.
Things that I'm interested in but don't affect me creatively include: history (I love history, just ask somebody who knows me ), politics (it comes with the history), sociology (reading from it every once in a while is interesting), and linguistics. Long ago, I discovered this nifty website, the Metaverse, and it really sparked an interest in conlangery and conworldery. To be honest, I have a plan for an imaginary country + language. Just have to stop scatterbraining, bear down and work in a concentrated manner  .
slammy: What inspired the nickname 'PartySan'?
PartySan: When I first started writing stuff, I didn't really use nicknames. My first nickname was "Coritos"; I even registered an account under that! But I forgot my password after intense video gaming, and being dumb enough to not provide a damn email address to retrieve it (  ), I just registered another account... even asked Ace later to hide the original one.
I always like saying "PartySan" is an amalgamation of English and Japanese meaning "Mr Party", and the irony is of course I'm a really shy and anxious guy. But, that's not how it began. I just used the word "partisan" after reading a history of WWII in Yugoslavia, and then changed the spelling when I realized that it (aggressively) sucked balls.
I also went under various other identities, such as Poseidon Warrior, Nuclear Lab No. 9, or the stupidest sounding, Ed-Man&Nester (from some Ed Edd 'n Eddy episode, dunno what it means anymore). Actually, I sometimes think of resurrecting some of these nicks as side-projects, or inventing more. I mean, FSOL = Amorphous Androgynous, and Aphex Twin has so many side projects, so why not? 
slammy: What kind of Genre, interests you/inspires you the most?
PartySan: In terms of art: I look at anything, but kind of tend towards landscapes, portraits, psychedelic stuff and experiments.
With music, again, anything goes.
Literature-wise, I like reading "modern" stuff more than the "classics".
So basically, anything that can get my creative juice flowing. Not very interesting, is it?
slammy: Nice to have so many sources, and I guess that would explain the productivity of you as a musical artist! That brings me to my next question, how do you manage to find the time, to create so many original pieces of music, and yet maintain a good quality throughout?
PartySan: When I started coming around to CTG and releasing music, I used to knock off tracks quick and post them regardless of quality. Then, I started getting better, and more discriminating. Recently, I've been thinking I don't spend enough time making music... so I guess I find enough time because schoolwork is relatively easy and thus, I have a load of free time. That's my theory, basically. As for good quality: stubbornly composing and persevering since the first track, eventually I developed the necessary skills. I have to admit, it was a really gradual process, so even I can sometimes end up amazed at my 1337 sk1llz 
slammy: Out of all your tracks, which are you most proud of, and why?
PartySan: Most of all, I'm proud of "Sirrus Forest" and "Untergrund", and here's why. They are the most intricately produced tracks I've made, really. And I love "Sirrus Forest" because it's cohesive and flowing like The Wall (well, the comparison here's a bit off, but you get the point), considering I made it randomly inserting (via Adobe Audition) samples from videogames into a track I made. I guess the project they're meant for really focused my attention into delivering top-notch tracks and avoiding problems that handicapped earlier effort. Wouldn't be surprised if those two were my best-known tracks.
Shifting gears for just one sec if we're still on this question, I really think "A Day in Spring" is my most underrated track. But that's just me. Who knows, maybe it really sucks. 
slammy: If you were shipped off to a desert island, and could take 3 songs (one of yours, one of a fellow sceners, and one commercial) what would they be?
PartySan: Damn, trick question. There's a lot of songs I love and, well, I'm not going to make any stupid analogies, but it would be next to impossible for me to reduce the list to one. But here I go, trying (this is really determined by my mood right now):
1. mine - "Eyes", for... reasons of inspiration. And if I say so myself, it's pretty damn good.
2. Fellow scener's - Benefit of the Boomerang's "At The World's End"... or right now, I'd pick "Tyhjää" by Minor Chill and either "Homesick Spirit" or "RooM 23" by Mr.S as alternatives.
3. Commercial - I'd love to put a Radiohead song here, but I'll go with "Bullwinkle Part II" by The Centurions. I love surf rock, and it would add to the mood I guess
slammy: Moving away from music little, what are you studying at school?
PartySan: I'm still in high school, so the curriculum is essentially unfocused and touching on just about everything under the sun: geography, physics, math, Romanian, English, French, biology, psychology, human rights, music, chemistry, computer science, general history and the UK's history. Oh, and due to it being a private school, I have to study Hebrew... seriously not cool. 
slammy: What are your current plans for the future, both musically and academically?
PartySan: They're a bit tied, to be honest. Academically I hope to graduate from high school and study in a university in the UK, where maybe I can befriend a couple of folks and form a shoegazing band. That's something I've been thinking about for a while.
But that's in the distant future. Right now musically I just hope to become less amateurish when playing guitar (which I don't do too often; my fingers hurt like hell and there's a lot of wiring involved), and maybe eventually quit hating the sound of my voice and making more songs with vocals (but I'll also have to stop being afraid that any lyrics I might write are stupid).
slammy: I really hope that works out for you . What was the first piece of music, do you remember as being the first piece you ever heard?
PartySan: I used to watch a lot of MTV in the 90s, but the first song I distinctly remember I won't go into, because I violently hate the song, it's the equivalent of a fucking musical abortion, and should never be mentioned again.
The oldest song I remember hearing and liking on MTV was "Ironic" by Alanis Morissette. I still love that song. Another song would be "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana... chronologically those are the two oldest songs I definitely remember as a kid. Oh, and "Give It Away" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, can't believe I almost forgot this one! My love of funk stems from it. Too bad RHCP turned to crap these days. Aw well, there always will be BSSM.
But I'd like to say; the song that definitely influenced me was "Frozen". This is a bit awkward, as I hate most of Madonna's output (but I have to admit "Ray of Light" is a great album; even if it's just a carbon-copy of Debut, Post and Homogenic), but yeah, I really began the voyage to ElectronicMuzikLand from there.
slammy: Yes, Ray of Light was a good album, most probably because William Orbit had quite a bit to do with it! . Of course, that clichéd question now to help wrap up the interview! What advice can you pass onto the aspiring musicians out there?
PartySan: Stay for long periods of time glued to the computer doing all sorts of stuff. Eventually you learn... or find your niche. Hey, worked for me 
Gotta say, really loved doing this interview, man. 
slammy: Thank you PartySan for a wonderful interview, on behalf of all CTG I would like to wish you the very best for the future. Are there any comments you like to say as a final word?
PartySan: Thanks a lot, Slammy and everybody.
And as a last statement... eh, may the Force be with you.
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